Wis. police defend new military vehicle

Madison police are rolling out a new armored vehicle officials say will protect officers and the public in dangerous situations

By Nico Savidge
The Wisconsin State Journal

MADISON, Wis. — Madison police are rolling out a new armored vehicle officials say will protect officers and the public in dangerous situations. But, they say, the vehicle doesn't mark a shift toward a more militarized style of policing.

A number of law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin have taken advantage of a Department of Defense program giving away military vehicles left over from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The use of former military vehicles in civilian law enforcement has prompted questions from critics, however, about whether the vehicles are necessary and if they lead to paramilitary police departments.

Capt. Vic Wahl, who oversees the Madison Police Department's West District and SWAT team, said the vehicle will help when officers deal with armed suspects and other dangerous situations.

The department got the vehicle last fall and recently put it into service with emergency lights, a new paint job and Madison Police markings.

"All too frequently we're seeing violent, weapons-related offenses that pose a huge risk to officers and to citizens," Wahl said. He referred to the 2012 shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek in which six people were killed and a police officer was badly wounded by a gunman.

"When those happen we ask our officers to go and respond to them, and we want to be able to give them the proper protection," Wahl said.